THE Organisation for Islamic Co-operation urged its member nations on Monday to take action against countries that permit public burning or desecration of the Koran, including the recalling of ambassadors.

The Saudi Arabia-based group made the call in a statement following an emergency online meeting of its foreign ministers to discuss recent incidents in which the Islamic holy book was burned or otherwise defaced at officially permitted protests in Sweden and Denmark.

The organisation’s 57 member countries should “consider taking any necessary decisions and actions that they deem appropriate in their relations” with Sweden, Denmark and other countries that allow such incidents, the statement said.

It encouraged civil society organisations in the member states to work with counterparts in countries where the Koran has been burned or desecrated to file local lawsuits “before taking their cases to international judicial bodies, where applicable.”

It also called for more efforts at outreach to combat Islamophobia, praising Kuwait for commissioning the printing of 100,000 copies of the Koran translated into Swedish for distribution in Sweden.

Ahead of the meeting, two men who had previously burned a copy of the Koran in Sweden did so once again in front of a crowd of a few dozen onlookers and about 20 counter-protesters.

There is no law against blasphemy in Sweden or Denmark and freedom of expression is generally held in high regard.

But as the recent Koran burnings have sparked angry demonstrations and diplomatic backlash in Muslim countries, officials in the Scandinavian countries have begun to consider whether there should be kerbs on public defacement of holy books or other religious symbols.

Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said on Sunday in an interview with Danish public broadcaster DR that the government is seeking a “legal tool” to prohibit such inflammatory acts without compromising freedom of expression.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on Sunday on Instagram that his government is analysing the legal situation regarding desecration of the Koran and other holy books, given the animosity such acts are stirring up against Sweden.

Before Monday’s meeting, the OIC had already suspended the status of Sweden’s special envoy over the Koran burnings.

Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said in a statement that he spoke in recent days with counterparts in OIC countries to explain how Sweden’s freedom of expression works. 

The Danish foreign minister said that his “government condemned and denounced the insult” to the Koran and “that it is studying this issue with great interest.”